A Place to Call Home
by svurookie
Summary: A 14 year old girl was found beaten and raped behind a school, and Olivia and Elliot are on the case. The plot twists and turns as it develops, and Olivia and this girl form a very special bond. Chapter 5 is now up! Plz R&R!
1. The Call

**Chapter One**

Today was like any other day at the 1-6. Olivia Benson was just about to head out the door for what she hoped would be a more than five minute lunch break, when the phone started to ring. She turned around to look at the phone, and grunted. She hesitated on whether or not to go back and answer it, but she figured the Captain would get it, and she proceeded to head out the door, when she heard, "Olivia?" The Captain was calling her from the door of his office. She stepped back inside the precinct.

"I've got a call I need you take."

"Is it urgent, Capt? I was just about to head out to lunch." Olivia said, hoping he'd understand.

"You and Elliot grab lunch on your way over to St. Elizabeth's."

"What's up?" Olivia inquired, growing concerned, as she put her jacket over the back of her desk chair, suddenly forgetting about her groaning stomach.

"Fourteen-year-old girl was found bound and gagged in back of a school in the Bronx. No I.D. Nurse said she took quite a beating and possibly was raped, but says the girl is too upset to let any of the doctors go near her."

"We're on it."

Olivia grabbed her coat and started rushing out the door, when the Captain stopped her.

"Olivia,…there's ah…there's one more thing…"

Olivia just looked at him; she knew it was something bad by the tone in the Captain's voice and the look on his face. She couldn't speak.

"A fourteen month old baby was found crying, strapped in a car seat, next to where she was found."

Olivia just nodded her head and went out to the squad car to meet Elliot.

Olivia got in the car with Elliot and proceeded to buckle her seat belt.

"What took so long?" Elliot asked.

"Cap got a call from St. Elizabeth's. A fourteen year old girl found bound and gagged behind a school in the Bronx. She was beaten up and possibly raped, and a fourteen month old baby was found strapped in a car seat, crying, next to her."

Elliot sighed and started the car, "Good thing I ate a big breakfast."

"Yeah lucky for _you_."


	2. The Hospital

**Chapter Two**

Olivia and Elliot entered the hospital and went straight to the nurse's station to ask about their victim.

"Olivia Benson, my partner Elliot Stabler, we're from Special Victims, " Olivia said showing the woman behind the desk her badge, and pointing to Elliot who flashed his badge for the woman as well, "we got a call about a fourteen year old girl, no ID, was found behind a school in the Bronx."

The woman looked over her clipboard notes and nodded her head when she found who Olivia was asking about.

"Come with me, she's in trauma two."

"Any news on who she is?" Elliot asked.

"No, she won't tell us her name, and she wouldn't let any of the doctors go near her. She was put in restraints by the hospital's security officers, and we were waiting for the police to show up before we did anything else with her."

Olivia and Elliot exchanged a frustrated glance, and Elliot spoke up to the nurse.

"Right, so…what about the baby?"

"What baby?"

"The call said a fourteen month old baby was found next to the fourteen year old girl."

"Oh right. He's up in the nursery being cared for. No apparent injuries to him, and DSS has been called in." Getting to the room, the nurse said, "She's in there. If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my desk." And the nurse walked away.

Olivia and Elliot just looked in at the girl who was wearing a hospital gown, had cuts and bruises to her face, a swollen eye that would soon be blackening, and her cheeks were stained with dried tears. Olivia's heart broke instantly for the anonymous girl as crazy thoughts started to run through her head.

"Why don't you go upstairs and check on the baby, and I'll see what I can get out of her." Olivia said to Elliot,

"Alright, I'll meet you back here in a bit." Elliot said, and took off to the nursery.

Olivia took a few more seconds to look at the child restrained to the hospital bed and then she proceeded into the girl's room.

The girl tensed up immediately when she saw Olivia coming towards her. Olivia showed the girl her badge, and introduced herself. "Hi. I'm Olivia,…" That was as far as she got because the girl started freaking out.

"GEY AWAY FROM ME! DON'T TOUCH ME! YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM! YOU CAN'T HAVE MY BABY! GET AWAY!" The girl screamed and thrashed around in her bed, fighting the restraints. Olivia talked calmly to her trying to get her to calm down.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I am here to help you."

"NO! GET AWAY YOU CAN'T TAKE HIM! I WON'T LET YOU HAVE HIM!"

"I'm not here to take anyone, I am here to help you. No one is going to take him away from you, I promise. I won't let them take him away from you."

"HE'S MINE AND NO ONE CAN HAVE HIM!"

"I know that, and you've done a great job with him, no one is going to take him away from you, he's yours. Now, I am here to help you, but you need to calm down. Would you like me to take off the restraints?"

Hearing this, the girl suddenly composed herself, and started to relax. Olivia took this as her cue to get a little closer to her.

"Would you like me to remove these?" Olivia said, pointing to the straps around the girl's wrists.

"Yes." The girl said, still trying to relax herself.

"Alright, here's the deal. I will remove these, but you need to stay calm and sit still. If you start to thrash around again and start screaming, I will put the straps right back on and then I will not be able to help you. Deal?" Olivia looked lovingly, but sternly into the frightened, young girl's innocent, hazel eyes. The girl stared up at Olivia wondering if she could trust her, knowing she had to in order to get help, and to get out of the restraints, so she reluctantly made the deal with Olivia by nodding her head.

Olivia removed the restraints and pulled up a chair next to the girl's bed and sat down. "Does that feel better?" Olivia asked, watching the girl rub her wrists to take the pain away.

"Yeah, thanks."

Olivia smiled at the girl, heart still breaking inside for her and what happened to her.

"My name's Olivia. I'm a detective. Can you tell me what your name is?"

The girl hesitated.

"It's okay, no one is going to hurt you. You're safe here, but I can't help you if I don't know who you are."

The girl still looked scared and reluctant to tell Olivia who she was.

"How bout this? Can you just tell me what your first name is?"

After some hesitation and careful thinking, the girl finally told Olivia her name.

"Aleiyah."

Olivia stopped writing her name down on her notepad to look up and smile at Aleiyah. "What a pretty name."

"Thanks…is my baby okay?"

"The baby that was found in the car seat is your baby?"

"Yes."

Olivia moved her chair closer to Aleiyah's bedside. "How old are you, sweetheart?"

"I'm fourteen. Please tell me my baby's alright." Aleiyah's voice got desperate and Olivia noticed she was clinging to her hand. She looked into the frightened girl's eyes and looked down at the grip Aleiyah's hand had on hers and Olivia put her other hand over Aleiyah's and gave it a squeeze.

"Ya know, my partner, Elliot, is upstairs right now making sure that he's okay."

"When can I see him?"

Olivia took her time answering her. "Well,…not right now. Right now we have to make sure that _you're_ okay."

"I'm fine." Aleiyah huffed.

"Well, just to make sure, the doctors need to run some tests."

Aleiyah started to tense up and pull away from Olivia.

"Honey, I will be right there with you the whole time. I won't let anyone hurt you, okay? But these tests need to be done, we need to make sure that you're okay. And, Aleiyah…can you tell me who attacked you? Can you tell me who wanted to hurt you and your baby?"

Aleiyah looked away from Olivia as tears started to stream down her face. She crossed her arms across her chest and sunk into the bed.

"Aleiyah?"

"I can't tell you!"

"Why not?"

There was a pause.

"Are you afraid he'll try to hurt you again? Because, Sweetheart, if you are…you don't have to worry about that. I won't let him come near you, but I can't protect you if I don't know his name. Please, Aleiyah, what is his name?"

The anger and terror built up inside Aleiyah, and she snapped on Olivia.

"NO, LEAVE ME ALONE! GO AWAY! I WANT MY BABY! I WANT MY SON, WHERE IS HE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM! GIVE HIM BACK TO ME, HE'S MINE, I NEED HIM AND HE NEEDS ME!"

Aleiyah started to get up from the bed, but Olivia stopped her.

"Aleiyah,…Aleiyah, stop this. I need you to stay in bed."

"NO, I WANT MY BABY! GET OUT OF MY WAY! LET ME GO!"

"Aleiyah, remember our deal. You either stop this now, and get back in bed, or the restraints go back on and I can no longer help you."

Aleiyah and Olivia had a stare down, and an orderly walked in the room and saw the two and thought Olivia needed help with Aleiyah.

"Do you need help, miss?"

"What?"

"Do you need help?"

"Um…" Olivia looked at Aleiyah and gave her "the eye." Aleiyah took the hint and started getting back in bed. Olivia turned to the orderly, "No. No, we're fine, but thank you."

"No problem." And he turned and left.

Olivia let out a deep sigh, and took her seat next to Aleiyah's bed again. "Aleiyah, I am going to go down the hall for a minute and get your doctor so we can get these tests taken care of, okay?"

Aleiyah grabbed Olivia's hand stopping her from going. "Will you please find out if my baby is okay? Please, Olivia, I need to know that he's alright."

Olivia hated this because she knew Aleiyah's baby was in the process of being placed in a foster home, and she knew she couldn't tell Aleiyah that, so she tried to stall her and buy herself some time.

"You never told me what your baby's name is. I bet it's as great as your name." Olivia smiled at Aleiyah, who smiled back at her.

"His name's Vincent."

"I love that name."

"I call him Vinny. Ever since he was born I've called him that."

"Vinny. I like that, too."

"So will you go check on him and make sure that he's okay?"

"I am going to find a doctor that is going to take care of you, and I will see what I can find out about Vinny, okay?"

"Okay."

Olivia started to walk out, when Aleiyah called after her. "Olivia?"

"Yes?"

"You promise you'll stay with me through the tests?"

Olivia's face softened and her heart melted as she saw this troubled girl starting to trust her.

"I promise I will be there every step of the way."

Aleiyah smiled at her. "Thank you."

Olivia smiled and walked out of her room to go and find the doctors and Elliot.

She found Elliot before she found Aleiyah's doctor. He was coming off the elevator towards her. Olivia met him half way down the hall.

"So, how's the baby?"

"Baby's doing well. Doctors say he doesn't appear to have been harmed in any way. They're looking for an emergency placement for him right now, and DSS is on their way down. What'd you get from the vic?"

"Just her first name. Aleiyah. I am looking for her doctor right now to do the rape kit. The baby is also hers. His name's Vincent."

"What is a fourteen year old girl doing with a fourteen month old son?"

"I don't know, Aleiyah wouldn't give anything up. The only thing she is concerned about right now is her son. Is there any way we can keep him out of foster care and in the hospital with Aleiyah until we can locate her family and find out what happened to her and who dumped her and Vincent in the back of that school?"

"We can talk to the social worker when they get here, see if they both can remain in the hospital pending this investigation, and then maybe they can be placed in a foster home together if we can't locate a family member."

Olivia nodded. "Let's go find Aleiyah's doctor so we can get that rape kit done and sent to the lab. I also know of one mommy who is dying to see her son."

Olivia and Elliot walked down the hall and peered into Aleiyah's room. She was lying in bed with her eyes shut, and Olivia said a little thank you prayer to God that she was finally able to relax. She had made Aleiyah feel safe, and she wanted to make sure nothing ruined that sense of safety.

Olivia and Elliot went to search for her doctor.


	3. The Lie

**Chapter Three**

"Doctor Fredricks?"

Doctor Fredricks, a young looking man with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes, turned around in his seat at a table in the doctor's lounge, where he was in the middle of a quick lunch and reading the Wall Street Journal, to address the voice behind him. "Yes?"

Elliot smiled, flashed the doctor his badge and introduced himself and Olivia, "Detective Elliot Stabler, my partner Detective Olivia Benson. We're with the Special Victim's Unit...can we steal a moment of your time?"

The doctor wiped his hands and his mouth of excess sandwich crumbs from his half eaten salami and cheese on rye, and stood up from the table and approached the detectives. "Sure. What's this about?"

"A patient."

"I have a multitude of patients, Detective, you'll have to be more specific if you'd like me to help you."

"Fourteen year old girl brought in a little while ago, found bound, gagged and beaten behind a school in the Bronx."

The doctor nodded his head as he rubbed his chin. "Yeah, she was brought in about an hour ago, her and a baby. She was hysterical when she came in, my nurse and I, and a few other nurses actually, tried to clean up her wounds, but she fought tooth and nail and kept screaming and going crazy whenever anyone went near her. The security officers had to put her in restraints until she calmed down."

"Yeah we know. I talked to her a little bit, and she calmed down enough, so I removed the restraints. Her name's Aleyiah." Olivia told him.

"Aleyiah. Such a pretty name, and such an awful thing to do to her. She took quite a beating, I'm surprised she survived it."

"We need you to do a rape kit before any of the physical evidence is destroyed. Aleiyah consented to the tests."

"Alright then, let's go."

The doctor, Elliot, and Olivia headed out the door and back up to Aleiyah's room.

As they were approaching Aleiyah's room they heard screaming coming from inside. The trio raced towards the room to find out what was going on.

"STAY AWAY FROM HIM! GET OUT OF HERE! YOU CAN'T TAKE MY BABY! YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM!"

They entered the room to find Aleyiah on one side of the hospital bed waving a syringe at an older woman. The woman; mid-forties, thin, with graying hair, wearing a long tan colored trench coat and holding a stack of paperwork under her arm, was standing on the other side of the bed trying to escape the room, but Aleyiah wouldn't let her. There were security guards and other hospital personnel trying to help out the situation as well, but Aleyiah wouldn't let anyone near her.

"Aleyiah!" Olivia said with a raised tone of voice.

"Olivia! She's trying to take my baby! She's trying to take Vincent away from me! You can't let her take him! He's mine!"

Olivia nodded her head towards the frightened young girl, and held her hands out to her, as she slowly walked towards Aleyiah.

"Okay. It's okay, no one is taking anyone anywhere right now, okay?"

Olivia looked at the security guards and the other hospital workers and said, "I need everyone to please step out of the room. Let us handle this, we're detectives."

Everyone but Olivia, Elliot, and the older woman, whom Aleyiah was holding hostage, left the room and Olivia turned her attention back to Aleyiah. "Aleyiah, give me the needle." Aleyiah hesitated. "Honey, if you prick yourself with that it will make you very sick and you can't expect to take care of Vinny if you're sick, now can you?" Aleyiah looked up at Olivia with tears streaming down her face. Olivia carefully inched towards her whispering, "Give me the needle, Sweetheart, you don't wanna hurt anybody," and when she got close enough to Aleyiah, she slowly reached for the syringe, but Aleiyah's shaking hand dropped the syringe on the floor and she collapsed into Olivia's arms sobbing. Olivia grabbed the young girl and wrapped her arms around her cooing, "Shh...it's okay, baby, it's okay." Olivia looked at the trench coat woman, who had taken a seat on the bed looking as if she was going to faint. Olivia shot a glance at Elliot, while continuing to rock Aleyiah in her arms, rubbing her back, trying to calm the girl's uncontrollable sobs. Elliot took the cue from Olivia and went to the woman on the bed.

"Ma'me? I'm Detective Stabler." Elliot held out his badge for her to see. The disheveled woman managed a weak smile at Elliot and stuttered, "Muh-Muh-Mary Luther, Depart...Department of Children...of Children and Family Service...Services."

"Pleasure to meet you. Everything's going to be okay. Why don't you and I go get some coffee and chat a bit, huh?" Elliot offered the DCFS worker his hand, helping her from the bed, and walked behind her out of the hospital room, giving Olivia a small smile before they left.

When Elliot and Ms. Luther had left the room, Olivia gave Aleyiah a tight squeeze and gently removed her from her arms so she could look at her. Aleyiah held onto Olivia's arms, her sobbing had simmered down a few notches, and she tried to slow her hiccupping down to catch her breath. Olivia turned her towards the bed, "Why don't you go sit on the bed and relax and we can talk, okay?" Aleyiah hobbled towards the bed and got into it. Olivia bent down and carefully picked up the syringe Aleyiah dropped on the floor and disposed of it in the proper container and then took a seat in a chair next to Aleyiah's bed.

"You're not gonna let that lady take Vinny are you, Olivia?"

"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. Can you tell me what happened first?"

"That lady from child welfare came in here asking me all types of questions about Vincent and she was saying she was going to place him in a foster home." Aleyiah looked over at Olivia. "That's when I lost it. I saw the syringe on the tray over there and I just grabbed it. I can't let anyone take Vinny away from me, Olivia. I need him and he needs me." Aleyiah started to tear up again and she folded her arms across her chest and sank into her bed, then she looked at Olivia and said, "I'm his mother."

Olivia nodded in understanding. "Can you tell me anything about Vinny's father?"

Aleyiah looked nervously at Olivia, her eyes darting about, trying to think of what to say. The nervous looks, and Aleyiah's fidgeting were not wasted on Olivia who pulled her chair closer to the bedside.

"Aleyiah? It's okay...you can tell me."

Aleyiah turned away from Olivia and stared at the wall.

"I...I can't." Aleyiah said quietly. "I don't know who Vinny's father is."


	4. Meet The Parents

**Hey to all my readers...no reviews means no updates...you want updates, I want reviews...can't have one without the other.**

**Chapter Four**

_"Aleyiah? It's okay...you can tell me."_

_Aleyiah turned away from Olivia and stared at the wall._

_"I...I can't." Aleyiah said quietly. "I don't know who Vinny's father is."_

Olivia's face grew sympathetic towards Aleyiah, and she rubbed the girl's upper arm, as Aleiyah continued to sink into the bed, facing the opposite wall, trying unsuccessfully to stop the tears from flowing freely down her face. Olivia was about to gently press the girl for more information when a well dressed, but distraught couple entered the room.

"Aleyiah!"

Aleyiah instantly snapped her head around to stare at the man and Olivia saw the terrified look in her eyes as the man and woman were starting to come nearer to the bed. Olivia instinctively shot up from the chair and stood between the couple and Aleyiah's bed.

"Can I help you, folks?"

"Who are you?" The gentleman, a tall, handsome man appearing to be in his mid-forties, dressed in an expensive suit and tie, carrying a dress coat over his arm, and smelling of very subtle cologne, inquired of Olivia, as he looked her up and down.

"I'm Detective Benson of the Special Victims Unit." Olivia answered, showing him her badge.

"Oh, well, Detective, I'm Gregory Nayler, I'm Aleyiah's father. This is my wife, Jocelyn." Mr. Nayler said, drawing attention to the woman who stood behind him. Jocelyn Nayler was a tall, slender woman, with bottle-blonde hair. She was dressed in a pair of straight black dress pants, black high heels, and a hunter green, oversized turtle neck sweater. She stepped up beside her husband to greet Olivia.

"Pleasure to meet you, Detective." Mrs. Nayler said in a confident tone. "We suspect you will find out who did this to our daughter?" She continued, glancing over Olivia's shoulders to look at Aleyiah.

Olivia was taken aback by the question, as she was not aware Aleyiah's parents even knew the circumstances that brought their daughter to the hospital.

"Mrs. Nayler, how did you find out your daughter was here?"

"When Aleyiah wasn't home when we got there, we got worried. She is not allowed out on school nights, and knows to come straight home after school to start her homework. We were told Aleyiah didn't return home after school, nor did she call to tell us where she was or when she would be back. We got worried, so we started calling around local area hospitals, and that is how we found out she was here." Mr. Nayler responded for his wife to Olivia's question.

"We would of gotten here sooner, but midtown traffic at this hour is horrendous." Mrs. Nayler chimed in. "Would it be alright if my husband and I spent time alone with Aleyiah? We'll answer your all of your questions later, but right now, I think it is best if we just be with her."

Olivia smiled politely at the couple, and gave them a halfway nod of her head. She turned back to Aleyiah saying, "I'm going to go find Dr. Fredricks, I'll be back in a little while. Are you gunna to be alright?"

Aleyiah smiled at her. "Yeah, thanks, I'll be fine." Aleyiah said almost inaudibly.

"Alright, I'll be back in a bit. Holler to the nurse if you need anything, okay?"

Olivia smiled again at Aleyiah, who less than wholeheartedly smiled back at her, turned to her parents and said, "I'll be back in a little while. The doctor is going to want to run some tests on Aleyiah, and we can talk about everything then."

Aleyiah's father was already approaching Aleyiah's bed, and Mrs. Nayler addressed Olivia, "Thank you, Detective." Then she went to her daughter's bedside and took her hand in her own. Olivia stole a glance at Aleyiah before leaving the room, and noticed how uneasy the little girl looked and how she seemed so uptight and nervous in the presence of her parents. Olivia hurried to find Dr. Fredricks and Elliot so she wouldn't have to leave Aleyiah alone for long with her parents. Something wasn't right...Olivia couldn't put her finger on it, but something was just not right with them.

On her way down the hall, Olivia ran into Elliot.

"Hey, Liv."

"Hey, what happened with the social worker?"

"She's brand new, the agency sent her over here with little to no information on what was going on with Aleyiah and the baby, she claimed she went into Aleyiah's room to obtain information, _did not_ tell Aleyiah she was taking her baby, just that she was from DCF, and Aleyiah freaked out. I calmed her down for the most part and they're waiting on a foster home that could possibly take Aleyiah and the baby together, they're just waiting on the full report from the doctor before they make another move. How's Aleyiah doing?"

"Her parents are here, so we might not need that foster home."

"Her parents are here? why aren't you talking to them?"

"They wanted some time alone with Aleyiah, claimed she never returned home from school, they got worried, called around at some hospitals, and that's how they found her."

Elliot gave Olivia one of his suspicious looks. "Sounds like you don't believe them."

Olivia paced around the hallway, and glanced back in the direction of Aleyiah's room. "I don't know, something's not right about them, Elliot. Just their mannerisms, their demeanor, the way they spoke to me. It just seemed...I don't know...not normal somehow."

"Come on, Liv, if I came home and found one of my kids wasn't where they were supposed to be, I'd freak out, too. I'd be calling every hospital, every friend they had, the school, neighbors, anyone I could think of to try and find out where my kid was."

Olivia nodded her head. "That's just it. Aleyiah's parents didn't say they called every friend or neighbor, or even the school...they said they called around at local hospitals until they found her. And they didn't even ask about Vincent, and that's the first time Aleyiah's let me leave the room without asking me to go check on Vincent."

Elliot rubbed his chin not sure whether he believed Olivia or not. "Parents have anything to say about the baby?"

"No, they never mentioned him."

"Well, let's talk to them, and if we're both getting the same vibe off of'um, I'll call Munch and Fin and have them check into them."

"Alright, but we have to find Dr. Fredricks first, that rape kit needs to be done and sent to the lab before all the trace evidence is gone."

Elliot and Olivia walked back to the nurses' station to ask the whereabouts of Dr. Fredricks.


	5. Aleyiah goes home

A/N: I know it's been awhile guys I guess you could say I have had a year and a half worth of writers block. I am a little rusty and don't know where I want to take this story, but I have had some ideas jumbling around in my head, and any more from you would be great. Reviews please, I need all the criticism and support I can get.

As Olivia and Elliot were walking back towards the nurse's station they spotted Dr. Fredericks coming towards the station.

"Dr. Fredericks." Olivia called out to him as her and Elliot approached him.

"Ah, Detectives." The doctor turned towards them as he gave some paperwork to the nurse behind the desk.

Olivia and Elliot met up with Dr. Fredericks at the desk and Olivia said to him, "We were just on our way to look for you. We need you to perform Aleyiah's rape kit."

The doctor put his signature on some papers, shaking his head, "No need, I just signed off on her discharge papers. Her parents are getting ready to take her home."

Olivia and Elliot looked at each other and then Elliot spoke up to the doctor, "How is that possible? You haven't performed the tests yet and our investigation isn't complete."

"I'm sorry, Detective, but her parents said Aleyiah told them what happened, about it being some school fight she got herself into, and they told me to dress her wounds so she could be taken home. I did what they asked me to do and there is no reason for her to be kept here."

"What about the baby?" Olivia probed him.

"Mr. and Mrs. Nayler assured me that baby is not Aleyiah's, that it was probably abandoned there and Aleyiah said it was hers because she didn't want anything bad to happen to it. Now if that is all, Detectives, I have my rounds."

Olivia stepped in front of him and grabbed his arm, looking him square in the eye, "You saw that girl. You saw how traumatized she was when she was first brought in, how can you send her home?"

Dr. Fredericks looked at Olivia, then down to his arm that she was gripping, and then his eyes met with hers once again. "I'm sorry, Detective, but there is nothing I can do. She is a minor in the care of her parents, they call the shots, not you and I have done as I have been told and have no choice but to release her into the custody of her parents. Now, if you'll excuse me, " he said jerking his arm away from Olivia's hold, "I have my patients to attend to." And with that he walked away.

Olivia joined Elliot at his side and they both watched as the doctor walked away down the corridor. "He's protecting his own ass. He knows Aleyiah wasn't in some school fight." Elliot said.

Olivia turned to him, "It's the parents, El. Something's not right about them, I said that from the moment I met them. They must of scared Aleyiah into making up that phony school fight story so she wouldn't have to be examined."

"Wait, you think her parents are responsible for putting her here?"

"Well, let's find out," Olivia answered him referring to Mr. and Mrs. Nayler who were walking towards them, Mrs. Nayler's arm around Aleyiah helping the girl walk.

"Mr and Mrs. Nayler." Olivia addressed them as they came towards her and her partner.

"Detectives." Mr. Nayler acknowledged them as him, his wife and his daughter moved closer towards them, meeting Elliot and Olivia half way down the corridor.

"We were wondering if we might speak with you and your wife for a moment?" Elliot asked.

"It will have to wait 'til later, Detective, we want to get our daughter home." Mr. Nayler answered him.

"Please. It will only take a minute, we still have some questions that need to be answered."

Mr. Nayler looked at his wife and daughter and Olivia saw the fear and pleading look in Aleyiah's eyes. "We really need to get Aleyiah home, but as soon as she is able to tell us who attacked her, mark my words we will be calling you to file a police report."

"What about Vincent?" Olivia asked, hoping that would stall the family a little longer.

"Who?" Mrs. Nayler inquired.

"The baby that was brought in with your daughter. The baby Aleyiah told us was her son. I am sure she would like to be able to see he is alright and say goodbye to him before she leaves." Olivia said that last part looking down at Aleyiah and she could see the tears forming in the young teen's eyes as the words "say goodbye to him" fell on her ears. Olivia wanted Aleyiah to be allowed to see Vincent so she could talk to her alone about what was really going on, but her parents were not having it, and even though it was quick, the glance the Nayler's gave to each other when the baby was mentioned was not lost on Olivia.

"I apologize for my daughter's lies, Detective. Aleyiah just wanted to make sure the baby would be okay and no harm would come to it, " Mr. Nayler spoke up to Olivia about Vincent, "Aleyiah has a way of…_exaggerating _the truth at times and I am sure she only had the baby's best interest at heart, didn't you, honey?" Mr. Nayler addressed Aleyiah, looking down at her with a stern look on his face.

"Yes, Daddy," Aleyiah answered meekly, fearfully looking up at her father, then stealing a quick glance at Olivia, before her eyes met the floor.

"I assure you we would know if our daughter had a baby, Detective, she does live under our roof, and I don't see how any good could come of Aleyiah seeing the baby again, it isn't hers and she was wrong to say it was," Mrs. Nayler said, giving Aleyiah's arm a tight squeeze and giving her an equally stern look which made Aleyiah keep her eyes to the floor. "We hope that you are able to locate its parents or a nice, loving home for him," Mrs. Nayler again addressing Olivia and Elliot, then looked at her husband.

Olivia tried using the law to get the family to not leave the hospital until her and Elliot were able to gain more information about the situation. "Mr. and Mrs. Nayler, it is against the law to abandon a child in New York, so if the baby is not Aleyiah's I need to hear it from her." Olivia then turned her attention to Aleyiah, "Aleyiah, when you first came to the hospital, you told me that Vinny was your son, remember?" Aleyiah nodded her head at Olivia. "Are you telling me now that he is not your son?" Aleyiah looked nervously at her parents and then to Elliot and then back at Olivia and she started to shift her body around anxiously.

"Aleyiah, listen to me very carefully. If Vinny is not your baby, that's okay, the social worker we met tonight will take Vinny and they will place him in a foster home so he can be taken care of, but I need to know from you if you are Vinny's mother, okay?"

Olivia looked lovingly into the girl's eyes praying she would break down and tell the truth; that Vincent is her son, but Aleyiah couldn't speak. Her parents looked down at her and her father sternly spoke to her, telling her to tell Olivia the baby was not hers.

"Aleyiah? Go on and tell the detective you do not have a baby so we can all just go home."

Aleyiah looked from her mom to her dad and her body started to shake and she burst out in uncontrollable sobbing to where her mother had to catch her from falling and hold her up in her arms.

"Please find a good home for the baby, Olivia! He deserves to be with good people who will take care of him! I'm…I'm not his mother, I just wanted to make sure he was okay! I'm sorry!" Aleyiah fell into her mother's arms, and her father spoke harshly to Olivia, "There. Are you happy now? She told you the baby wasn't hers. Now, if you both don't mind, we are taking our daughter home." And with that, Mr. Nayler put his arm around his wife and proceeded to lead the two of them towards the exit of the hospital.

Elliot nodded his head at the Nayler family, knowing there was nothing left him or his partner could do, but Olivia knew she had to do something else before she let them take Aleyiah out of the hospital. She reached in her pocket and pulled out her business card, and got in front of the family so she could address Aleiyah.

"Wait, please! Aleyiah, I didn't mean to upset you, I know how hard all of this has been on you. I want you to take my business card, okay? It has my phone number on the back and you can call me if you decide you want to tell me what happened to you today, alright?"

Aleyiah looked at Olivia still crying , and then up at both her parents as if she was checking their approval on taking Olivia's card, and Olivia stole a glance at Elliot ,who was standing behind the group, before looking back at Aleyiah.

Aleyiah's mother and father looked down at her and her mother said to her, "Go on, sweetheart, take the card from the Detective." Aleyiah looked at Olivia and put her shaking hand out to her, taking the card.

"Thank you, Olivia, "she said quietly, through sobs.

Olivia smiled back at her, "You're welcome, sweetheart, I hope to be hearing from you soon" Aleyiah just looked at the ground and sniffled, putting the card into her pocket.

Olivia straightened herself up and her eyes met the Nayler's eyes once more in a cold stare before Mr. and Mrs. Nayler led Aleyiah out of the hospital with Elliot and Olivia doing the only thing they could do at that point; watch. Olivia had tears forming in her own eyes, but there was no time for that, for just as the family was leaving the hospital the front desk nurse came up to them.

"Detectives?"

"Yes? Elliot answered her.

"A woman from Social Services is here, she found a foster home for the baby that came in with your victim. She is waiting to speak with you both in the nursery."

Olivia sighed, "Aleyiah didn't even get to say goodbye to him." Elliot nodded at her and thanked the nurse, then turned back to Olivia. "Let's go talk to the case worker." And the two of them headed up to the nursery.

Upstairs Elliot and Liv were greeted by Mary Luther, the woman Aleyiah had held hostage just hours before. "Ah, Detectives, we meet again." She greeted them with a quirky smile on her face. Elliot returned the smile, knowing her a tad bit better than Olivia did, and he extended his hand out to her to shake.

"Ms. Luther, nice to see you. Liv, this is Mary Luther, Department of Social Services."

Olivia smiled and said hello to the social worker, who returned the salutation.

"What have we got?" Elliot probed.

"Well, I have found a temporary foster family for the baby and his mother until the girl's parents can be located. They are able to take both the girl and the baby just as soon as all the paperwork goes through and my office signs off on it."

Elliot and Olivia look at each other.

"And how soon will that be?" Elliot asked her.

"Well, if things go the way we hope they will go with this family, I would sayyyy….less than forty-eight hours?"

Elliot smiled at her. "That's great, well, my partner and I will be in touch with you if any further developments happen."

"Okay, that sounds great. Please call my office if anything changes, otherwise, we should have these two taken care of within a couple of days." Ms. Luther answered him with a smile, and Elliot and Olivia thanked her again and turned around and started walking away from the nursery.

"Well, we have forty-eight hours or less to figure out what the hell is going on with this girl and this baby." Elliot said to Olivia as they were walking towards the elevator.

"That baby is definitely Aleyiah's, Elliot, there is no doubt in my mind."

"I know that, Liv, there's no doubt in my mind either, but…..how we gonna prove it?"

Olivia just looked at him and he looked at her, neither had any answers, and the elevator door popped open with a ding.


End file.
